Be an Advocate for After-School

Advocating to an elected official positively impacts policy decisions. It is often the personal story and connection that has the most impact on an elected official. You don’t have to be an expert or well-paid lobbyist to be an activist. You just need to be willing to share with elected officials why you care about after-school and how they can help. Successful advocacy is also about building a relationship with your elected officials. While you don’t want to bombard them, periodically communicating with them will lead to more success in seeing positive changes for Michigan’s children and youth.

The Michigan Legislature invested $3 million in the Department of Human Services (DHS) budget for fiscal year 2011 for a Summer Expansion Grant program which served 85 sites throughout Michigan with outcomes of:

improved academic performance,

increased participation and engagement, and

gains in positive youth development and social-emotional functioning.

An investment of $ 5 million would fund an additional 57 sites reaching thousands more vulnerable youth.